After months of keeping it under wraps, we are finally able to announce that AM444 (ChaCha & Jay.Soul) are working with French pop legend Matthieu Chedid aka -M-. Their first collar comes in the form of -M-‘s rework of AM444’s ‘ShenJingMoShao’. Give it a listen here, and read the official announcement below:

‘Following his first tour in China in 2010, French pop rock maverick Matthieu Chedid better known under his artist name –M- , was hungry for new sounds from the middle Kingdom. After listening to different Chinese artists Matthieu finally had a crush on AM444, the duet project of Shanghai based vocalist and MC, ChaCha, and Dutch producer Jay Soul. Matthieu said he got seduced and inspired at once by the voice and universe of ChaCha and the soul colors of Jay Soul. Even though they have never met, he felt he had something in common with ChaCha and spent weeks digging into all her past songs. –M- and ChaCha might not belong to the same world, -M- being often under the spotlights and ChaCha preferring the shadow of underground clubs and mostly working with dubstep and bass music artists. However -M- decided to collaborate with her and Jay Soul and did a remix version of “Shen Jing Mo Shao”, a tune from AM444’s first album “Eye Wonder”. Re-titled “Détache toi” in French (“Break away”), the tune perfectly blends ChaCha and Matthieu’s voices and adds the chemistry of elaborate guitar chords to Jay Soul’s dub-by tune.

Illustrator and animation artist Leilei was chosen to design the cover of Shenjing Moshao’s EP. He looked at many of –M- visual elements, loved his look and universe and came out with a beautiful and shimmering collage.’

After September’s amazing 1st edition of Crucial! With Naoki Ienaga, we are excited to welcome another legend of the asian reggae scene, Cojie from the one and only Mighty Crown!

Mighty Crown was founded in Yokohama, Japan, in 1991 by brothers Simon and Sami. The sound’s undeniable grasp on the Reggae/Dancehall industry was culminated after their stunning victory at Irish and Chin’s World Clash New York in 1999, where they defeated a roster of heavy contenders. The world stood still as these non-Jamaican DJs mastered the art of sound clashing. Winning such a coveted award thrust Mighty Crown into the limelight — enabling their career to reach countless milestones including victories – Death Before Dishonor (World Clash Jamaica), U.K. Cup Clash, World Clash Antigua among many others.

Cojie will be playing strictly roots and culture, with enough dubplates and specials to make even the toughest soundboy weep! A very special night of reggae music…

Sub-Culture are excited to bring the cream of Asia’s bass music promoters and DJs all together for the 2nd installment of KVLT, a series of events bringing together the various crews, producers and djs from around Asia. We have all known and worked with each other for many years, but this is the first time we have all met together and played at the same party, so you know we are all going to be bringing our A-game!

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DJ Dragon (Home Bass Communications, Dubway – Bangkok, Thailand)

Born in Bangkok Thailand in 1976 Dragon was raised in a family of artists and musicians. As a child he had a passion for playing drums and percussion but it wasn’t until he moved to live in Canada that he fell in love DJing and drum n bass music. After his completing his “education” Dragon moved back to Bangkok. It was here that Dragon realized that his ultimate goal in life was to spread Drum n Bass to the Thai audience. In 1997 he formed the Homebass Communications Crew with Mc Abu and DJ Wen. To date the crew have organized some of the best DnB events in the Kingdom having had guests such as l Double, Jon B, DJ SS, Aphrodite, Mickey Finn, Dread Bass, Ez Rollers and Ray Keith. The crew also hosted the Kingdoms longest running electronic music show called the Homebass Show on 104.5 fat radio. Fast forward to present day and Dragon is still spreading the vibes only this time with a record label and also Dubway Sessions the biggest Dubstep event in Thailand.

Founding member of B-Side and Dubplate Manila, Red-I is one of the corner stones of the Manila beat scene. Heavily influenced by reggae, dub, hiphop and bass-weight, after releasing numerous beat tapes over the last few years he finally released his debut LP earlier in 2012 – Jahdgement Day, a heavy-hitting 15 track behemoth of electronica, dub, bass and experimental sounds. Although his previous works are sample based dusty grooves, this album focuses more on space analog synth work and drum programs.

Partner in crime, Soul Flower, is one of Manila’s best kept secrets. One of the finest Djs in Asia, Soul Flower brings serious heavyweight sounds to the table. The pair have played with Sub-Culture in Tokyo as well as Shanghai and never fail to mash up the dance!

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Jase (The Beats – Saigon, Vietnam)

Jase is Vietnam’s original bass DJ. After buying his first pair of 1200’s whilst living in Australia in 2001, Jase moved back to Vietnam in 2007 and started ‘The Beats’, the now legendary bass movement in his native land, focusing on promoting beat based music and bringing international DJs to town such as Daedelus, DJ Premier, TokiMonsta, Doshy, Samiyam, Jamie Vex’d and many more. He also co-founded Saigon Rockers to push the Dub Reggae scene in Saigon. Its been a good few years since Jase last played with Sub-Culture, and we are very excited to see what sounds he brings with him!

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ChaCha (Sub-Culture, Chee Productions, AM444 – Shanghai, China)

ChaCha, from Guizhou, China, has been singing for over 10 years. Never scared to try new styles, ChaCha rhymes and sings on everything from trip hop and reggae to dubstep and drum and bass. Although she loves to perform with all these styles of music, her main passion is for trip hop and downbeat. A self-taught producer, her own productions are dark and moody, with influences from the likes of classic trip hop such as Dj Shadow, DJ Krush and Portishead to the more abstract, idm sounds of Boards of Canada and Tujiko Noriko. As well as member of Shanghai’s Uprooted Sunshine Soundsytem and Sub-Culture crew, ChaCha has recorded with the likes of Kode9, Clive Chin, Jahtari, Desto, Jimi Tenor, Adrian Sherwood, Hamacide, Rumi and Sickstar, as well as her AM444 project along side Jay.Soul. One of China’s brightest underground stars, ChaCha effortlessly switches up styles to fit the reggae, electronic, hip-hop and leftfield grooves she sings her sharp self-penned lyrics over. ChaCha was also the first ever mainland Chinese participant at Red Bull Music Academy last year in Madrid, and since then has started a new solo project under the moniker Faded Ghost, a dark, ethereal sound using vocal effects, loops, field recordings and synth work.

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Drunk Monk (Sub-Culture, SVBKVLT, The Shelter – Shanghai, China)

Drunk Monk is the founder of Shanghai’s The Shelter, Sub-Culture and the SVBKVLT label. A record collector from an early age due to his father obsession with vinyl, Drunk Monk has been pushing the music he loves for over 15 years. Responsible for bringing some of the most forward thinking electronic artists to China, as well as promoting local sounds and art through the now-closed PAUSE:MUSIC and his newly inaugurated SVBKVLT imprint. Depending on his alcohol intake on the night, Drunk Monk’s dj sets range from a heavy sonic assault to aural bliss, but are always packed full or rarities, exclusives and upfront sounds.

Only 1 more day until the Sub-Culture X Split Works Afterhours at the Guinness Wood & Wires Festival! Artists are beginning to arrive in town and we are getting pretty excited for tomorrow night. Here’s a bit more on one of Sub-Culture’s favorite guests from the last couple of years, OBJEKT!

There isn’t a lot to go on with Objekt. After emerging in 2011 with a pair of mysterious, white label 12″ records, with just 4 tracks he solidified his position and reputation as one of the most talented and forward thinking producers in the scene. A third white label is being released in a weeks time. Apart from these amazing and now sought after 12″s, little more is known about Objekt. Here is his bio:

Adventures in machine music built to make subs rattle and feet wiggle; a convoluted mess of elektrology and teknology, 3-step, bass-core, post windmill, proto-minimal wankstep, gondola, shithouse, acid wonk, ambient gabber, no more, no less.

Like this:

Only 2 more days now until the Guinness Wood & Wires Festival Afterhours! Here’s a bit of info on one of the acts we are most looking forward to, Hyperdub’s Ikonika!

Sara Abdel-Hamid aka Ikonika from South West London grew up listening to hardcore and post punk while her elder sisters obsessed about hip hop. So for her, Dilla and Dillinger Escape Plan were next-door neighbours from the get-go. After starting out producing hip hop, the dubstep bug bit her hard in 2006. Her musical tastes, ranging from Pretty Girls Make Graves to Burial, are reflected in her music: not in any kind of forced fusion of sounds, but in productions that move from the sweetly melodic to atonal clang effortlessly. This approach made her a natural addition to the Hyperdub roster, with Kode9 first inviting her to release a 12″ on the label before he coaxed her into thinking about what an Ikonika album might sound like. The results are as odd and iconic as anyone might have wished for. After further singles for Planet Mu and Hyperdub, she went on to release one of the best albums of 2010 ‘Contact, Love, Want, Have’, receiving glowing reviews from The Guardian, BBC, NME, FACT, Resident Advisor, Pitchfork among many more. In 2013 she released her second full length for Hyperdub, Aerotropolis, pushing her sound even further to create the perfect follow up to a near perfect debut.

Equally accomplished is Ikonika the DJ. Her technical proficiency has taken her to bookings at clubs and festivals all across the world. Her live and studio sets journey from classic House and Techno, to RnB bangers, to the freshest sounds of the underground. Her talent was recognised by DJ Mag with nominations for ‘Best Breakthrough DJ’ of 2009 and ‘Best DJ’ of 2010, in their ‘Best Of British’ awards. Ikonika also runs the label Hum + Buzz with Optimum (Night Slugs/Planet Mu). As well as releasing singles from the owners, it focuses on introducing bright new talent.